Graduation Speech
by Harry50
Summary: The best student for more than a century, a heroine who got the Order of Merlin First Class award for her deeds during the war, the Head girl, who is also a very impressive young woman, speaks for the graduating class of '99 in the absence of her best friend, Harry Potter, who disappeared from Magical Britain a few weeks after the war. [Harry/Hermione] [Neville/Luna] Mainly Drabble
1. Chapter 1

**A.N. **This is a short distopic story happening after the war and the victory.

Standard disclaimer applies.

**Graduation**

June 1999

The Hogwarts class of '99 was somewhat unusual. While it was a bit larger than most, as it included some of those who should have graduated a year earlier but were delayed by the war, what made it really unusual was the maturity of most of the graduates and the patina of sadness that even the end-of-school celebrations couldn't wipe. Considering the fact that quite a few of these graduates had fought in the last battle that had taken place on the same grounds just over a year earlier, many losing classmates, friends or family, it was natural that they were still somewhat sad.

It was not surprising that the Head Girl – Hermione Granger – was also a bit sad. She got the highest scores on NEWTS for more than a century, but she had no close friends to share the news with. Neville was there, of course, supporting her as much as he could throughout the year, but as much as she liked him, he wasn't Harry. Ron didn't even come for his delayed seventh year, trying to cash on his 'war hero' status. Not that it would have changed much. He would have probably mocked her study habits and started some formidable quarrels, but she could not count on his support. Well, she hadn't even considered him a friend since finding out that he was using love potions on her and on Harry to assure Ginny of getting her childhood hero while distancing Hermione from Harry, allowing Molly to achieve her dream of 'one big happy family,' although how happy that could be, based on potions instead of true feelings, Hermione wasn't sure.

Then there was Harry… Her Harry… He had disappeared a few weeks after the battle, only two days after she left for Australia. He left a letter on his bed at the Burrow. Molly had burned it after reading its contents. Luckily, Hermione got hold of another copy. Basically, it said that he could no longer stay in the British magical world and left it to find his place somewhere else. He stayed in contact with her, of course, and occasionally with Neville and with Luna, but they all kept it secret. For all practical purposes, Harry was thought of as dead.

Hermione shook her head to get rid of the memories. She had a duty to perform. As Head Girl, she had to take part in the organization, and as the best student of her class, she had to give a speech. She sighed at the thought that her parents would not be present. The Headmaster had actually offered her some special bracelets for her parents, to let them see Hogwarts and visit it. She had to decline. If everything had gone according to plan, her parents should have already been back in Australia for a day, at least. They would be safe there for a while. She still wished they could be with the other parents, proudly watching their daughter.

She quickly changed, wearing her graduation robes. She looked at the irregularly shaped pendant on the gold chain that hung above her breasts and patted it with a smile before closing her robes, hiding both chain and pendant. She took her notes and put them in a pocket and tacked her wand in the holster on her arm. She would not be caught without her wand ever again. It was a new wand, bought from Ollivander after the war, to replace the one lost when the Snatchers caught them. Hermione took another glance at her room, making sure that nothing was left loose. She then called "Kreacher!"

The old house-elf appeared silently. She waved at her trunk and the few boxes set at the side of her bed. "Wait until the ceremony starts before moving it away," she instructed.

Kreacher bowed. "As my lady wishes." She had instructed him clearly beforehand, so he already knew where to take everything. She nodded approvingly and he vanished.

\/\/\/

Two hours later, the ceremony was in full swing. First, the headmaster – one brought from Salem after the war – congratulated the graduates. He then let the minister, followed by some more dignitaries, give short speeches, before standing up proudly to invite the next speaker. "I feel honoured and delighted to invite our best student for more than a century, a heroine who got the Order of Merlin, First Class, award for her deeds during the war, our Head girl, who is also a very impressive young woman – Miss Hermione Granger – to speak for the graduating students."

Hermione stood up and walked slowly to the podium, noticing a shimmer, as some very effective ward shields sprang into existence around her. She hid an appreciative smile as she stood proudly in front of the audience, hoping the shield would not be needed but glad that it was set there.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Witches and Wizards, we've all come here today to celebrate the ending of our time as students and the beginning of our lives as adult citizens. We're deeply grateful to the staff of this time-honoured establishment for their effort to turn us from a bunch of mostly irresponsible children with little or no knowledge of our abilities, how to use them and how to be responsible in their use, into what we are now – adult witches and wizards who can carry on the great traditions of our kind.

"Yet our teachers were not the only ones to shape us during our time here. There were other events that affected the whole wizarding world and didn't skip over us. The war that raged even within these grounds merely fourteen months ago shaped us just as much, and in some cases even more.

"The war taught us bravery, cunning, sacrifice, and more. Yet the war failed to achieve its most fundamental goal – to change the magical world for the better. Our greatest hero – Harry Potter – saw this soon after the last battle. While the fighters and their families were still busy with burials, with tending to the wounded and with recuperation, other forces were busy making sure that everything will stay the same, with the same bigotry and the same self-interests that plagued our society and led to the two blood wars. He couldn't accept this. He didn't fight a dark lord only to let the conditions that made that dark lord rise stay unchanged, inviting the next dark lord.

"Unable to make the changes that he deemed necessary, since he was still too young to claim his rightful positions, he decided to cut loose from the British magical world and keep his distance until either it changes for better or collapses on its own."

A voice from the audience interrupted her. "How do you know that's what he meant? There was no explanation for his disappearance, as everybody knows."

Hermione recognized Molly's voice. She smirked as she turned to face her. She considered Molly 'the potion queen' whenever she thought of her. "Actually, there was a letter, only you found it unacceptable, since it painted you in very dark colours, so you burned it before anybody outside your family had a chance to read it. Harry had thought of that possibility, so he sent me a copy and kept another at Gringotts. Actually, I think it's time to read some parts of that letter, the ones that aren't too personal."

She saw Molly grab her wand and send a spell at her. She ducked behind the lectern, but the spell splashed on the shield ward harmlessly. Hermione stood up again, smirking directly at Molly. "Well, on second thought, maybe I should read the personal parts too."

Had it been a Muggle event, somebody would have already taken Molly out or at least warned her furiously. Since this was Magical Britain and Molly was a Pureblood, while Hermione wasn't, nobody seemed to care, except for Arthur, who grabbed his wife's arm firmly and took her wand away. Hermione wasn't surprised. Harry had already predicted that, and he didn't need Divination either.

Hermione took a parchment out of her pocket and spread it on the lectern. Someone at her back seemed to feel offended and tried to approach, probably to grab the letter before she could read it. The shield ward stopped them, not very kindly. It felt like being electrocuted and was quite painful, she was sure. It was a shield she had designed, after all.

"Here's Harry's letter:

_Hi,_

_I'm sorry to have left you this way, without a proper goodbye, but I knew you would try to stop me in any way you could, and frankly – I didn't want to go into all the discussion and arguing that would have ensued. This way, you have no choice but to accept my decision, whether you like it or not._

_Why am I leaving?_

_There are many answers to that. I'll start with what concerns you specifically. Molly – since my first year you tried to present yourself as a mother figure to me, stating that I was just like one of your children. I always suspected, and now I know, that it was just an act, a facade you've shown to me. All you really wanted was for Ginny to get me in any way she could, thus gaining you and your children access to my vaults. You tried to separate me from Hermione, although everyone knew we were destined for each other. Well, everyone except Hermione and me. When it didn't work as you wanted it to, you turned to love potions. It first seemed to work. I got infatuated with Ginny and Hermione showed interest in Ron, taking her out of Ginny's way. Well, it didn't work for long. Ron is as subtle as an axe blow, so it wasn't too difficult to see that he was spiking my drinks and then Hermione's. She was smart enough to find the antidote and we continued acting as if we were still under the influence. We didn't really want Ron to join us on our quest, knowing he would bring the potions with him. Luckily, Hermione managed to replace the potion with plain water within a few days._

_Once the war was over, your first concern, even before burying Fred, was to replenish your potion supply and resume administering it to us both. I'm tired of staying cautious against the potions, and your cooking, although I usually like it, is not as great as you believe. Don't worry, I'll eat well where I'm going and won't have to beware of potions._

_Ron, my supposedly best friend, you still have to learn a lot and not only school stuff, although I doubt you ever will. You were a nice friend for playing around, but I couldn't really trust you. You betrayed me during the fourth year and never really apologized. You did it again during our quest, but then I knew you just ran out of potions, or what you still believed to be potions. You were never a real friend. I'm not sure you were even a friend at all. You were just playing your part in the game your mother directed._

_Ginny, I sometimes feel like you were just a victim of your mother's plots like I am, but then I remember how enthusiastic you've been in playing your part. You never really loved me, Harry. You were entranced by The-Boy-Who-Lived and all the stories about him, That's not me and never have been. I'm just Harry, a sometimes moody, sometimes stupid and occasionally brave boy. You don't really care for **ME**, although you've become a friend of sorts with me. You're a smart girl, really, and you're quite pretty and shapely. Go find someone whom you can really like and who would like you in return. Hopefully, that will grow into love. Forget about me, though. We were never intended for each other and never will._

_Arthur and George – I know you were never part of this conspiracy. I'm glad to have met you and of being accepted into your family. Despite Molly, I have no ill feelings towards you. I wish you the best. Same goes for Bill and Fleur._

_As for the other reasons for leaving… I've seen what happened during the few weeks it took our society to come out of mourning. The rich Pureblood families, those who sent **others** to fight for them, acted swiftly in the political arena, practically nullifying all that the war was supposed to achieve. By the time I realized what had happened, I found out that I was outmanoeuvred and outclassed. Percy, you did your worst as part of that. I don't think I'll ever forgive you. Your adherence to regulations will eventually be your downfall._

_Anyway, I'm digressing. Magical Britain is no longer a place where I can feel at home. I can't even stay in Britain, since that puts me under the Ministry's jurisdiction, and I despise the way it turned out. I'm going to leave this all behind, but I'm going to take all that's mine. I'll not spend a single sickle in Magical Britain until it has truly reformed. When the Muggle-born and Halfblood witches and wizards will be treated just like the Pureblood, both officially and unofficially, then I'll reconsider my decision._

_Hermione my dear, please make sure your parents leave Britain soon. The Pureblood can't tolerate the fact that you're brighter than any of them. If they can't touch you, they'll find a way to get to your parents. I don't think you should stay either, but I know you want to finish your studies and get the highest NEWT grades ever. Still, I beg you to leave as soon as you graduate. Let the British Magical society collapse on its own, We don't need to take any part in that._

_My other real friends – you know who you are – I suggest you also leave Magical Britain to its doom. Find your place elsewhere, where you can live freely and prosper. I'll be in touch when I can."_

Hermione folded the letter and put it back in her pocket. She could see that the audience didn't like it. She didn't mind. "As we're graduating today, it is time we face the world and see it for what it really is. We must face the truth, whether we like it or not. Unfortunately, Harry's letter told you the truth. Now you must choose. You must know that you're either be part of the problem or part of the solution. It's our choice and our life. Whatever we do with that, only the future will tell."

She now stood straight, as if taller. "Just like Harry suggested, I see no future for me in this country, the way it currently stands. I choose to leave for now. Goodbye!"

She took the gold chain out of her robe and touched the pendant. "Potter's new home," she said softly. She managed to see some more spells splashing harmlessly against the shields before she was whisked away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Before and After**

June 1998 (a year earlier)

They were staying at the Burrow. It wasn't really their choice, though. Everybody expected them to stay with the Weasley family that had really suffered during the war. It lost Fred during the last battle, while George lost an ear the previous summer. Molly had also fought Bellatrix during the last battle, finally ridding the world of that monster, but not without some injuries, although relatively minor. Neither Harry nor Hermione could refuse the invitation without causing a scene, something they both tried to avoid.

Yet staying at the Burrow wasn't pleasant for either. Beside the love potion problem, there were other, almost as unnerving. Ginny was constantly trying to seduce Harry while Ron was trying to do the same with Hermione. "If you impregnate Ginny, or just get caught in a compromising situation with her, you must make her your wife, according to the wizarding customs, or else fight a duel against the head of the family. As for me, if I get pregnant, then Ron can claim me, disregarding my opinion, since he's a Pureblood. How convenient, don't you think?"

Hermione had an excuse. She had to find her parents and restore their memories. She rushed through the preparations and boarded the first plane she could find to Australia as soon as she was ready, without even checking her childhood home for damage. She rejected Ron's offer to join her, claiming, "Your family needs you now much more, and since I'm going to travel Muggle style and stay in Muggle hotels, you will be more of a hindrance than a help." Ron couldn't fault her answer. Harry helped her with some money, after finding that he was not banned from Gringotts. It turned out that Bill was of great help in making peace between the Goblins and Harry Potter.

Harry left the Burrow a few days later. Well, he left at night, actually, leaving his letter on his bed. Knowing how Molly might act, he also made some copies beforehand.

Kreacher took him to Grimmauld place, where he changed the wards to only accept Harry, Hermione Luna and Neville. Even without the Fidelius, the Black wards assured that anybody trying to come in without prior permission was due for some nasty surprises.

By the time Hermione returned with her parents, Harry had officially disappeared, although she had no problem contacting him at will. She found out that Kreacher had repaired her parents' house of the damage caused during the time it stayed unused, and also restored the gardens in the front and back yards. A week later, Harry came for a visit. He was warmly welcomed by all three members of the family. Harry, though, had a specific plan in mind. He spent a few minutes with Mr. Granger in the study and then approached Hermione.

He knelt in front of her, procuring a ring from his pocket. "Hermione, it took me way too long to understand my feelings and to acknowledge them. I love you, and I don't want to lose any more time. Will you do me the honour and agree to marry me?"

It took Hermione all of a tenth of a second to form her reply. "Yes, Harry, I'll gladly marry you. I've probably fallen in love with you during the first year, but it took me almost as long to understand my feelings. I love you with all my heart."

They had their wedding in the middle of August in the little church that her parents used to frequent. The magical world stayed oblivious to the wedding.

They spent their week-long honeymoon on a magnificent island that was a part of Harry's inheritance. "I'd like this to be our permanent home," Hermione told him after the second day there.

"Alright. We shall call this place Potter's New Home. I'll make us portkeys to take us here, no matter where we are," Harry agreed.

A day later, he created the pendant that was actually a map of the island. She kept it on herself at all times since then.

\/\/\/

Harry didn't want to return to Hogwarts but didn't want to let her go there alone. She teased him, "You could become Head Boy, had you agreed to come. Now I have to make do with some Ravenclaw who's a year younger than you."

Harry smiled, the mischief evident in his smile. "I won't be there officially, but I still have my invisibility cloak, you know."

"What's your plan, then?"

"Oh, you know I'm crap at planning. I'll let you do that, as usual. Just remember that I want to spend each and every night with you for as long as we both shall live."

That gained him a long snog and some more fun later.

Harry really spent each and every night with her. After stalking her for the first week he found that she was really quite safe. None of the death eaters or their families returned to Hogwarts, since the ministry had confiscated all their assets. As surprising as Harry found such an action, after knowing who pulled the strings, he later found the explanation. "Anybody foolish enough to enslave themselves and their families to that Halfblood startup is worthy of punishment," was the logic behind this, and since most of the confiscated assets didn't end up in the Ministry's vaults, it was evident that greed had been at play.

Once he was sure of Hermione's safety, Harry started handling his businesses. Since he intended to leave Britain for good, he gradually transferred his investments elsewhere. He sold his shares in various businesses in such a way that he made a nice profit. All his transactions were handled through layers of middlemen, making the seller (or the buyer, when he bought shares in other countries) practically untraceable. With the help of his loyal house-elves, Harry was able to interest mainly those families that controlled magical Britain, making them consider the price a bargain. He was quite content to get such high prices, most coming from the vaults of the controlling elite. The buyers, though, were due for some unpleasant surprises when finding that they paid much more than the right price, but they had nobody to blame but themselves. Of course, most of the planning was done by Hermione.

A side benefit for Harry was that spending his time with Hermione made him also study for NEWTS almost as much as her, despite not attending classes. When Hermione took her NEWTS at Hogwarts, Harry took them at the ICW headquarters, under secrecy vows, gaining almost as good grades as his wife. By that time he no longer had shares in any British magical business, except for WWW. He still made sure that George would be strongly advised to move his main business elsewhere.

Actually, with Potter money going out of Magical Britain, its finances were slowly declining in a kind of landslide effect. Each business he got out of got new shareholders, who were usually eager to increase business as soon as possible, yet the market didn't grow at all. Even the "Baby Boom" expected after every war could not have a real effect so soon. The increased competition caused some of the smaller businesses to shut down, but even those that survived were unable to gain much profit. It started slowly, but Harry was sure that within a few years, Magical Britain would go bankrupt.

\/\/\/

June 1999

The audience at the graduation ceremony saw Hermione being attacked by several curses, none of which could pass the shield. When she held her pendant and mumbled something, some thought they saw Harry Potter at her side, smirking at them for a fraction of a second. It was so quick that nobody could tell for sure. The shield collapsed as soon as Hermione disappeared. The minister, feeling indignant at her words, ordered, "Aurors, check the stage and find anything you can. This event needs investigation."

All they did find eventually was some dirt from the soles of her shoes. No magical signature could be found and no traces of where she potkeyed to or if Harry Potter had really been there or was only an illusion. Worse, for the Ministry, many reporters were present at such a high-key event and they passed their reports before somebody thought of stopping them. The event was even being broadcast on the WWN. The Ministry could stop the transmission and control the British media to some extent, but had no such control of the international media. It would be a few weeks of damage control, if not longer, before the general public would find another topic more interesting, yet the public's confidence in the Ministry would take much longer to regain.

\/\/\/

Hermione arrived home and stumbled a little, as always after a portkey transfer. Harry arrived a second later and simply fell sprawled on the floor. Before Hermione could help him, a house-elf materialized and helped its master to his feet.

"Thank you, Twinkle. Have Hermione's belongings arrived already?"

"Of course, Master. The Lady's trunk and her other stuff were brought here by Kreacher more than an hour ago. Will Master and Mistress need anything now?"

Harry smiled at the small creature. "Twinkle, I've already told you that you should call us by our names when we're alone."

Twinkle shook its big head. "It's not proper for a house elf to address its master and mistress that way, and if it turns into a habit, one may erroneously do that in the presence of guests. That won't do!"

Harry laughed at Twinkle's seriousness. "Alright, do it your way, if you insist. Can you bring us something to eat? I know it's not dinner time yet, but at Hogwarts, it's past dinner already."

Twinkle just bowed and vanished quietly. Harry turned to his wife. "That was a great speech that you gave there, and the new shield of yours was also great. I think it stopped several 'crucio's."

Hermione smiled, engulfing him with her arms. "I think there were two 'crucio's, some blasting and cutting hexes and a few other nasty curses. Nothing passed the shield."

He engulfed her back in a loose hug. "Had they been nice enough, you could have taught them this shield." He turned more serious at once. "Had it been ready earlier, it might have saved some lives, as it can even block the killing curse."

"Well, I couldn't have done it earlier. I needed some material we were only taught this year, and it wasn't in any book that I had at the time."

Harry nodded, tightening the hug. "I knew that if it could be done, you were the one to do it. You're magnificent, you know?"

"And you're a flatterer. Let's go change. It's too hot here in these clothes."

Harry agreed wholeheartedly. When on the island, Hermione usually wore only her bikini, not bothering with the top most of the time. That was something Harry could never tire of looking at. Besides, so close to the equator, it was really hot, quite unlike Scotland.

\/\/\/

The young couple was not confined to the island, though. There was also a small magically powered yacht there, very good for travelling to the larger island, about two hours sailing away, where there was an international airport from where they could fly anywhere in the world.

They also owned a larger yacht, one suitable for ocean crossing, but neither found sailing enticing enough to try that.

Actually, they preferred to fly on Harry's Firebolt, disillusioning themselves and the broom when approaching inhabited areas. Hermione, so Harry found out, was not so afraid of the heights as of losing control of the broom. Flying with Harry made that fear irrelevant.

Back in Britain, Neville was also finishing moving his family's investments elsewhere. Although not as rich as Harry, who had inherited both Potter and Black fortunes, along with everything Tom Riddle and Peter Pettigrew had, the Longbottoms had quite enough assets that withdrawing them from the British magical economy had some effect. This could not be said of Luna. Although not poor, her family had mainly land plots that housed some magical creatures, making them unfit for sale even within the magical world, and Luna considered them natural reserves. Her other main asset – The Quibbler – had no real commercial value. It had actually been more of a hobby and occupation for her father than a real business. After the war, Xeno was in no state of body or mind to continue publishing. Luckily, her finances were not a big deal, as Neville had proposed to her halfway through the seventh year. They intended to get married soon after settling in a new country.

Most others were in worse positions. Although Molly escaped trial due to the skewed laws and the fact that neither Harry nor Hermione had bothered to file a complaint, knowing how it would be treated, her social standing plummeted after Harry's letter was brodcast and she dared not show her face in public. Ron and Ginny were in almost as much trouble. The Holyhead Harpies, that had shown some interest in the redhead seeker, withdrew their offer as soon as Harry's letter became public. Ron had no standing offers to lose, but when he tried to interest some Quidditch teams, even the Cannons rejected him. He tried getting into Auror training, but his academic records weren't good enough and not even his Order of Merlin award could be used to get him in. He didn't mind that too much, though. Auror training was hard work, harder than Hogwarts studies, and he'd never liked hard work.

Only George was doing well. As advised by Gringotts, he moved his centre of operation to France, where the taxes were lower, the weather was warmer and the girls were friendlier. His Paris branch was already doing almost as well as the one in London and was sure to surpass it in a few more months. As his share in life was improving, he tried to help his family too. He asked Ron to work in the shop. That proved to be a mistake. Ron's presence deterred clients and his attitude deterred even more. Besides, by the end of the day, there was a mismatch between recorded sales and the items removed from stock. Evidently, Ron could not be trusted with this job. With that experience, George didn't dare put Ginny in the front shop. She did handle mail orders and storeroom stocks quite well, though. He was considering sending her to the French branch, where her social position was of no importance.

Actually, Bill and Fleur moved to France. After the publishing of Harry's letter, Gringotts felt it wouldn't be wise to keep Bill in London and transferred him to their French branch. His talents and loyalty were still highly appreciated. Fleur was certainly delighted to return to her birth country, escaping the British bigotry and gaining better weather and better food. Just staying away from Molly was a blessing all by itself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Later**

Five years had passed. The Potters travelled the world as much as they liked. Hermione took her mastery in Transfiguration first, and then Charms, followed by Potions and was currently working on gaining mastery in Ancient Runes followed by Arithmancy. Along with travelling and studying, she was also able to bring Harry two children and was currently working on the third.

Her parents didn't stay in Australia, as Harry had initially advised them. They moved to the Canary Islands, close enough to the Potter Island to visit each other several times a year. Their clinic was doing nicely, giving them a more than comfortable income.

Neville and Luna had eventually settled in Florida, liking the warm weather and the lack of formality. They bought a yacht where Luna liked to stay nude most of the time. Their first child was born after they inaugurated the yacht and she was now expecting her second, also conceived on the yacht. It was also useful for visiting the Potters, where both women were glad to go clothes-free. Both husbands liked it.

In Britain, things weren't that good. The economic downfall that started as just a few isolated businesses having problems, turned into a landslide. With businesses closing, more and more families lost their livelihood. With no new jobs offered in the magical world, witches and wizards had to learn how to function in the Muggle world in order to find a job. That was not a problem for most muggle-born and half-bloods, but it was a massive problem for the purebloods. Worse, none of the magically educated had enough Muggle education to opt for the higher paying jobs. They needed to make do with low-level jobs and low-level income. That also made it impractical to buy stuff at magical stores, where similar items cost five to ten times as much, due to manual low-volume manufacturing. Diagon Alley looked like a ghost town. Most of the shops closed and the remaining few had a very limited choice of merchandise and were staffed only by the owners. Everything that could be bought in Muggle shops was no longer sold there.

George didn't really feel the change. He moved to France as soon as his Paris shop was doing better than the London one and already had five more shops in major magical districts in Europe and the USA. Ginny was also quite happy. She found a mate in France and was now a proud mother of two and not planning on having any more children. Her two pregnancies made her lose her slim figure, turning it much closer to her mother's figure than she liked.

Ron, on the other hand, wasn't happy. Since that blasted letter that Hermione read for all the world to hear, he couldn't find a good job, and he couldn't keep the ones he did find. Of course, he didn't think that his laziness and his disregard to rules and good work practices were the cause. It was much easier to blame his former best friends. If only they hadn't found out about the potions all would have been fine. He was spending most of his time at the Burrow, eating everything he could find. Molly had to resort to casting disillusionment and notice-me-not charms on all foods put aside for another meal or just to cool off, or they would vanish before anybody would notice. This didn't help with Ron's figure, of course. He was becoming too wide and too heavy to ride a broom and certainly to manoeuvre with one, but he blamed the old brooms in the family shed.

Molly also couldn't feel happy. Although her social status was still very low, she was no longer outcast. With almost everybody becoming poor, even her financial situation was no longer a deterrent. She only wished she could see her grandchildren more often. She just couldn't afford to go to France more than once a year, and her children found nothing attractive in Britain. She couldn't blame them, really. Had she been younger, she would have searched someplace else for living at.

There were only a few families in Magical Britain who were doing well, relatively speaking. They still had control of the Ministry, they still had the wizengamot in their collective pockets and they still had most of their gold, although it was diminishing at an alarming rate. Yet what was it good for? Most of the magical folk were working for Muggle businesses. There was no way to force them back, since there was no way to pay their salaries. These wizards and witches were now getting new ideas about how the world around them worked, how the wizarding society should work. That was dangerous. New ideas were the stuff revolutions were made of, and the controlling elite didn't want to lose its power, but what could it do?

"Didn't Potter say something about change?" one asked.

"Yes. He wanted the Mudbloods and Halfbloods to be considered equal in all ways to us. That's unacceptable!" another said.

"Can't we make some superficial changes and make him return, without really giving in?"

"It won't work. I'm sure he has that mudblood genius with him. She'll see through our schemes. Besides, if he comes back without infusing our economics with his money, it won't do anything. It might even be worse."

"Can't we force him to bring his money back?"

"Not really. It's all invested in various businesses. If he sells all at once, he may lose most of his money and then it won't help us. If we let him do it gradually, as economically wise, he'll have time enough to see the truth. He's quite smart even without her help, as we've seen."

"Then there's nothing we can do right now," concluded the first.

\/\/\/

It took two more years before the wizarding economics came to a complete halt. As more and more stuff was being bought from Muggles, more and more gold was converted into Muggle money, yet nothing flowed in the other direction. The goblins became really worried as more and more vaults were being emptied. What had initially been a trickle, when only the poorest families were emptying their vaults or abandoning them, when no items of real value remained there, turned into a flow, as even the richest families were depleting their gold at an alarming rate. Gringotts announced all vault holders that the annual fees must be paid in advance or the vault emptied, otherwise the vault's contents would be seized and auctioned. Very few families emptied the vaults and even fewer paid the annual fee, yet the auctions didn't go too well either. Very few items found a new owner, mainly the cheapest items. Nobody seemed inclined to buy expensive items of no immediate use unless they could be sold to Muggles at a higher price, and very few still had enough gold to pay for such items. The Goblins found themselves in a real problem, one that couldn't be solved by another rebellion.

Some of the rich families saw the writing on the wall. They packed all they still had and moved elsewhere before they lost everything. They lost a large part of their gold but still had enough to settle comfortably wherever the social climate fitted them. Other didn't. They used their gold to the last and then had to find some source of income. The smart ones looked for Muggle jobs. A few tried to use magic for robbery and thieving. It worked only for a short while. The Muggle Police was good enough to find them, and somebody had probably taught them how to make magic suppressing cuffs. Spending several years in prison with other criminals was not something any of them liked, but without their wands and with the cuffs, they could do nothing to escape.

\/\/\/

By that time, Hermione was already finishing her fifth mastery and was also contemplating a fourth child. With the Potter house-elves helping so willingly, raising children was no problem at all, and her pregnancies had not been too difficult, nor giving births. Harry had become a multi-billionaire, quite well known in the right circles. Most of his investments were in Muggle companies, giving a better return than the few investments he still kept in the magical world. He practically owned a racing broom manufacturer and a chain of apothecaries, along with some magical newspapers, none of them in Britain.

It was this interest in newspapers that made him aware of the British situation. Once in a while, he was browsing through "The Weekly Prophet" – the only newspaper still published in magical Britain. The headline intrigued him. "_**Ministry closes. Some departments to operate with volunteers.**_"

He delved in, trying to understand some more.

"_After the slowdown and then the total collapse of the magical economy, the Ministry was unable to collect taxes, making it unable to pay salaries. First to resign was Minister Fudge Jr. who told the Prophet that he couldn't _shoulder the  
_burden of responsibility when he needs to find some income for his family. His wife is already working as a secretary at a Muggle firm, and only due to that income can his family eat, so he said._

_The heads of the departments convened to reach some decisions. They decided to dismiss all workers of the DMLE, including the Auror force, due to lack of funds and the fact that most magical Brits now work in the Muggle world and are subject to its laws. The departments of sports, foreign affairs, and health were also disbanded. St. Mungos will continue to function but will need to charge quite higher fees for its services. There may also be some cuts in staffing. As Hogwarts was already closed last year due to lack of funding, the department of education is no longer needed. All youngsters needing to pass their OWLs or their NEWTs must turn to the ICW for taking these tests. The resigning head of department also advised the public to let the youngsters attend Muggle schools, so they can opt for better jobs as adults._

_The Ministry's building will be closed starting next week, All cleaning, maintenance and security personnel were dismissed. Most had not got their salaries for two months or more. The Muggle Prime minister was made aware of the potential danger in leaving this building unattended. He promised to put the whole area under day and night surveillance. A few offices in a nearby building were secured for the use of the few workers who still want to keep our legacy alive. Several unspeakables will continue their work part-time, as volunteers, using a private entrance. The heads of the departments of Goblin affairs, Muggle affairs, MLE and education will try to help the public three times a week in the evenings, as volunteers. The exact times will be published next week._

_The most troubling, though, is the disbanding of the department of transportation. That means that within a few weeks, no Floo travel will be possible, as the Floo network stayed the same since its invention, three hundred years ago. The system suffers from frequent breakdowns, that had been effectively used by the Death Eaters to cause harm at the time. Without constant maintenance, it's bound to act increasingly erratically until it stops working altogether. Renovating the Floo system and bringing it up to the standards used in other countries requires a major investment that is currently impossible to find, when we're all struggling to just survive. Some former employees of the department may be able to help with local problems, but any system-wide problem will not be handled._

_As for portkeys, only people licensed to create them should do that. Anybody found creating portkeys without a proper license will be prosecuted as driving without a license by Muggle authorities. New licenses can be obtained from the ICW._"

Harry turned to his wife. "What do you say? Shouldn't we try to do something?"

Hermione shrugged. "What for? Who for? It looks like the ICW will practically govern Magical Britain. Isn't it better for all? The British wizards and witches didn't prove themselves worthy of self-governing. Maybe this way, in a generation or two, they will finally become what they should have always been – a just and modern society."

It would take another generation before a Potter descendant visited Britain and a few more years before one settled back in the ancestral Potter manor. By then, the notion of pureblood would be practically extinct.


End file.
